THE YEAR 2022 MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREATEST VICTORY IN THE HISTORY OF RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB - WINNING THE EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS' CUP IN BARCELONA. Now, in conversation with a roll call of the legends from that glorious day in 1972, Tom Miller looks back on the campaign that culminated in Rangers winning their only major European trophy. Willie Johnston recalls the team's revolutionary tactics. John Greig revisits the match in Lisbon when Rangers thought they had been eliminated. Alex MacDonald claims he still has the bruises from the quarter-final, and Derek Parlane tells of his shock at being called into the starting line-up against Bayern Munich just before his 19th birthday. And for the final itself, Peter McCloy evokes the special chemistry that delivered the trophy to Ibrox. Join these legends as they share the inside story of an astonishing achievement from a golden era for Rangers Football Club.

Football is the most popular sport on earth, and a near-universal means of expressing collective identification. This book investigates the uses made of football to create, shape and foster national identities in Spain since the beginning of the twentieth century. Its focus is on the manner in which football reporting has been utilized to cultivate Spanish, Catalan and Basque national myths and stereotypes in different historical circumstances. Football and National Identities in Spain shows the changing and artificial nature of myths and exposes the often dark vested interests behind the propagation of national narratives through soccer. This book analyses Spanish, British, French, German and Italian media to tell the fascinating story of how the Spanish national team went from perennial underachiever to one of the most lauded in the history of the game and the profound implications this transformation had for the national and international image of Spain.

Football fans love nothing more than to read about their favourite teams. Although this books is aimed at young teenagers they will delight all ages with their mixture of funny and enlightening stories and will give hours of pleasure discovering quirky facts about your favourite team. Each title is also augmented with a selection of sketches by the young sketch artist Becky Welton that depict some of the stories within.

The second edition of a ground-breaking football book that concentrates wholly on the fast-growing women's game. This is the definitive annual, with coverage of the top six divisions and top 90 clubs in England - The Woman's Football Yearbook is the only printed annual to include a complete list of results, League tables, player appearances, goals and stats for the Women's Super League, The FA Women's Cup, Women's League Cup and Women's Premier Leagues. It includes an entry on each of the top 90 English league teams and also covers European and international results. With the Three Lionesses ranked second in the world, two English teams in the semi-finals of the European Cup, domestic games shown on BT Sport and BBC, Manchester United forming a women's team for the first time, a crowd of 45,000+ at the FA Women's Cup final, 6,000 women and girls teams and over 100,000 regular players... women's football is on the rise and this book is aimed squarely at this fast growing market place.

South America is a region that enjoys an unusually high profile as the origin of some of the world's greatest writers and most celebrated footballers. This is the first book to undertake a systematic study of the relationship between football and literature across South America. Beginning with the first football poem published in 1899, it surveys a range of texts that address key issues in the region's social and political history. Drawing on a substantial corpus of short stories, novels and poems, each chapter considers the shifting relationship between football and literature in South America across more than a century of writing. The way in which authors combine football and literature to challenge the dominant narratives of their time suggests that this sport can be seen as a recurring theme through which matters of identity, nationhood, race, gender, violence, politics and aesthetics are played out. This book is fascinating reading for any student, scholar or serious fan of football, as well as for all those interested in the relationship between sports history, literature and society.

This book tackles issues of globalization in the English Premier League and unpicks what this means to fan groups around the world, drawing upon a range of sociological theories to tell the story of the local and global repertoires of action emanating from the popular protests at Liverpool and Manchester United football clubs.

Three years ago, when Cavan footballer Alan O'Mara was twenty-two, he spoke out about his battle with depression which led him to contemplate suicide. Only the thought of his parents and the pain that they would experience in his death prevented him from taking his own life. Now, in The Best is Yet to Come, he tells his story. From the role the GAA played in his life, to the decision he made to share his journey, this is an account of an ordinary young man, a GAA star, who found a way to move past the dark thoughts that beset his mind during his worst days, and who discovered that the only way out of the darkness is to ask for help. 'In summoning his courage and becoming the first active inter-county player to speak of his experiences with depression, Alan O'Mara gives a much needed voice to an aspect of human experience that has been cloaked in silence and stigma. This book, which is needed now more than ever, gives a rare glimpse into the complex inner world of depression and will give hope to those suffering in silence, guidance to those seeking solutions and inspiration for families and friends supporting loved ones.' Conor Cusack

Women's football is the fastest growing participation sport in both the UK and across the world, and the 2015 Women's World Cup was the biggest tournament the sport had ever seen. This book explores the experience of fans of women's football who followed their teams in Canada, examining their practices and fan behaviour. How did host cities manage the influx of visitors? And how did fans manage to support their teams, considering the vast amounts of travel expected across such a big country? Dunn also examines the way that the England team is structured and run, relating this to the country's domestic competition, as well as assessing the media coverage of women's football globally. This research is all framed within the author's own experiences of the Women's World Cup, as both an academic and as a sports journalist.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Globe-trotting golfer Tom Coyne has finally come home. And he's ready to play all of it. After playing hundreds of courses overseas in the birthplace of golf, Coyne, the bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland and A Course Called Scotland, returns to his own birthplace and delivers a "heartfelt, rollicking ode to golf...[as he] describes playing golf in every state of the union, including Alaska: 295 courses, 5,182 holes, 1.7 million total yards" (The Wall Street Journal). In the span of one unforgettable year, Coyne crisscrosses the country in search of its greatest golf experience, playing every course to ever host a US Open, along with more than two hundred hidden gems and heavyweights, visiting all fifty states to find a better understanding of his home country and countrymen. Coyne's journey begins where the US Open and US Amateur got their start, historic Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. As he travels from the oldest and most elite of links to the newest and most democratic, Coyne finagles his way onto coveted first tees (Shinnecock, Oakmont, Chicago GC) between rounds at off-the-map revelations, like ranch golf in Eastern Oregon and homemade golf in the Navajo Nation. He marvels at the golf miracle hidden in the sand hills of Nebraska and plays an unforgettable midnight game under bright sunshine on the summer solstice in Fairbanks, Alaska. More than just a tour of the best golf the United States has to offer, Coyne's quest connects him with hundreds of American golfers, each from a different background but all with one thing in common: pride in welcoming Coyne to their course. Trading stories and swing tips with caddies, pros, and golf buddies for the day, Coyne adopts the wisdom of one of his hosts in Minnesota: the best courses are the ones you play with the best people. But, in the end, only one stop on Coyne's journey can be ranked the Great American Golf Course. Throughout his travels, he invites golfers to debate and help shape his criteria for judging the quintessential American course. Should it be charmingly traditional or daringly experimental? An architectural showpiece or a natural wonder? Countless conversations and gut instinct lead him to seek out a course that feels bold and idealistic, welcoming yet imperfect, with a little revolutionary spirit and a damn good hot dog at the turn. He discovers his long-awaited answer in the most unlikely of places. Packed with fascinating tales from American golf history, comic road misadventures, illuminating insights into course design, and many a memorable round with local golfers and celebrity guests alike, A Course Called America is "a delightful, entertaining book even nongolfers can enjoy" (Kirkus Reviews).

It is not easy. Having a dream, having talent and being faced with a world that wants you to have neither – it is not easy.

This is not an easy story. This is a book about difficult odds, about cruelty, about broken families and addiction. This is also a story about hope. This is a tale of bravery and the undefeatability of the spirit of South African women. This is a story about football, but it is a story about so much more. This is a tale about the fearless women who carry the sport on their back, told through the eyes of the best player on the African continent.

This is the story of a little girl who rose out of the tough streets of Mohlakeng and went on to become a champion of the world.

As Michael Lewis's bestseller Moneyball captured baseball at a technological turning point, this "highly entertaining, very smart book" (James Patterson) takes us inside golf's clash between its hallowed artistic tradition and its scientific future. The world of golf is at a crossroads. As tech-nological innovations displace traditional philosophies, the golfing community has splintered into two deeply combative factions: the old-school teachers and players who believe in feel, artistry, and imagination, and the technical minded who want to remake the game around data. In Golf's Holy War, "an obvious hole-in-one for golfers and their coaches" (Publishers Weekly, starred review), Brett Cyrgalis takes us inside the heated battle playing out from weekend hackers to PGA Tour pros. At the Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside, California, golfers clad in full-body sensors target weaknesses in their biomechanics, while others take part in mental exercises designed to test their brain's psychological resilience. Meanwhile, coaches like Michael Hebron purge golfers of all technical infor-mation, tapping into the power of intuitive physical learning by playing rudimentary games. From historic St. Andrews to manicured Augusta, experimental com-munes in California to corporatized conferences in Orlando, William James to Ben Hogan to theoretical physics, the factions of the spiritual and technical push to redefine the boundaries of the game. And yet what does it say that Tiger Woods has orchestrated one of the greatest comebacks in sports history without the aid of a formal coach? But Golf's Holy War is more than just a book about golf--it's a story about modern life and how we are torn between resisting and embracing the changes brought about by the advancements of science and technology. It's also an exploration of historical legacies, the enriching bonds of education, and the many interpretations of reality.

As every American knows, our nation's favorite pastime is also big business. The last fifteen years have been exceptionally good to the business of baseball-with the growth in fan attendance, the spread of cable television, the burgeoning interest in cards and other baseball memorabilia, the historical appreciation of franchise values, the emergence of a powerful players' union, and average salaries that are almost twenty times their pre-1976 levels. Yet at this time of prosperity, major economic issues trouble the sport: the threat of franchise relocation, the continual flash points in collective bargaining, the growing commercialization of the game, the club owners' collusive response to free agency, lingering concerns of race discrimination, and the arguably tenuous link between player pay and performance. This fascinating book examines these and other major issues and assesses their probable impact on the business of baseball. Contributors begin by examining the effect of the reserve clause on competitive league balance. They then investigate whether prior experience with the salary arbitration process affects player demands in subsequent settlements and compare salary differences between ineligible and arbitration-eligible players. They consider the role of the baseball fan as contributor to team winning, as season ticket purchase, and as card-collecting hobbyist. Diamonds Are Forever also looks at the link between player pay and performance. The authors question whether such high salaries are actually earned by players or are instead awarded by owners eager to have ""the winning team."" They also discuss the growth in unequal distribution of salaries among players. In the last section, the authors look at racial discrimination in baseball and the influence of a team's racial composition on salaries. From Babe Ruth to Nolan Ryan, Doubleday to Skydome, baseball cards to Homer Hankies, the nation has been enthralled for decades with the business of baseball. Although the authors look to the future and consider changes that might occur in this profitable pastime, they assure that diamonds are forever.

The past 25 years have been the most dynamic in the history of Major League Baseball, from the league's recovery after the players' strike to the growth of analytics and the rise of new World Series contenders. In The Reshaping of America's Game: Major League Baseball after the Players' Strike, Bryan Soderholm-Difatte reflects on the factors and challenges that have changed major league baseball since the 1994-1995 players' strike. He examines the consolidation of power in the Commissioner's Office, the influx of Latin and Asian players, the boom in new stadiums, the influence of analytics in reshaping how rosters are constructed, the relationship between managers and the front office, and the rise of the power-game between pitchers and batters that has led to unprecedented strikeout and home run totals. While Major League Baseball continues to develop and grow, the league has had to grapple with repeated steroids scandals, the struggle of small-market teams to remain competitive, and the "forever" unfinished business between players and owners over free agency and fair compensation. The Reshaping of America's Game provides a detailed and intriguing review of the many issues affecting the national pastime during the liveliest years in MLB history. The Reshaping of America's Game, together with Soderholm-Difatte's America's Game, Tumultuous Times in America's Game, and America's Game in the Wild-Card Era, form the author's complete, definitive history of Major League Baseball.

Feeling that most golf books are written by top-flight professionals who are miles re-moved from the problems of the ordinary desk-bound, muscle-bound amateur, Don Herold believed there was room for one golf book written sympathetically by a learner for fellow learners. He believes every golf club should have a consulting psychiatrist and psycho-analyst. His book doesn't pretend to profundity along these lines, but he is certain that it will give comfort and consolation to all fair-to-mediocre golfers in their darker hours, largely by improving their mental attitude. The pros tell us how to hit a golf ball 250 yards. After all, that's not what we want to know. What we want to know is how to hit a golf ball. As one who has had more fun out of golf, than anything else in life, the author felt an urge to write a book to help all golfers get more fun and less distress out of the game. Don Herold says "Many golfers lead lives of quiet desperation. That is what I want to remedy, in this book." Contents Include: "That Happy Adventure Golf" - You Can't Mix Golf With Hate, Or Haste - You Can't Score if You Can't Putt - Getting Those Approach Shots up for One Putt, I Hope - Don't Let The Long Shots Panic You - You've Gotta Take Aim - Let Golf Play You - "I'm Too Old to Learn, I'll Never Play Any Better" - Don't Be So Damned Dull - Good Golf is Shaken Only Out of a Practice Bag - Traps and Other Troubles - Along About Here

The FIFA World Cup is arguably the biggest sporting event on earth. This book is the first to focus on the business and management of the World Cup, taking the reader from the initial stages of bidding and hosting decisions, through planning and organisation, to the eventual legacies of the competition. The book introduces the global context in which the World Cup takes place, surveying the history and evolution of the tournament and the geopolitical background against which bidding and hosting decisions take place. It examines all the key issues and debates which surround the tournament, from governance and corruption to security and the media, and looks closely at the technical processes that create the event, from planning and finance to marketing and fan engagement. Analysis of the Women's World Cup is also embedded in every chapter, and the book also considers the significance of World Cup tournaments at age-group level. No sport business or management course is complete without some discussion of the FIFA World Cup, so this book is essential reading for any student, researcher or sport business professional looking to fully understand global sport business today.